Arsenal appoints Ljungberg as interim manager

Arsenal Football Club on Friday announced the appointment of assistant coach Freddie Ljungberg as interim manager after the sack of coach Unai Emery.

“We have full confidence in Freddie to take us forward,” Josh Kroenke said on behalf of the Arsenal board.

Arsenal said their decision to sack Emery was due to poor team performance and unfavourable results in recent weeks. The club, however, thanked Emery for his efforts.

“Our most sincere thanks go to Unai and his colleagues who were unrelenting in their efforts to get the club back to competing at the level we all expect and demand. We wish Unai and his team nothing but future success,” the club said.

The club said they have started the search for a new head coach and will make an announcement when the process is complete.

Ljungberg, a member of Arsene Wenger’s “Invincibles” team that went an entire season unbeaten en route to the 2003-04 Premier League title, was appointed assistant coach in June and will now take over while the club searches for a new head coach.

While Arsenal can still qualify for the knockout stages of the Europa League, supporters at a half-empty Emirates Stadium made their anger known on Thursday by booing the Spaniard, with a handful of them holding up cards saying “Emery Out”.

Emery’s career at Arsenal was been marred by the unimpressive performance from the team, especially in the 2019/2020 season.

Arsenal’s last 2-1 loss in the Europa League against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night made it seven consecutive matches without a win for the Gunners. This is Arsenal’s worst run since 1992.

In the Premier League, Arsenal currently sits 8th on the log with four wins, six draws and three losses.

Ljungberg will begin his interim managerial career with the Gunners when they travel to Norwich on Sunday.